The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-071073 filed Apr. 24, 2023 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to confectionery and a method for making confections.
Conventionally, there have been capsule-shaped confections, each of which contains an article(s) inside the capsule. For example, Utility Patent Application Publication No. S53-110977 discloses a capsule having a structure in which the article such as a figure (toy) is accommodated, and the exterior thereof is covered by a confection.
In Utility Patent Application Publication No. S53-110977, the spherical capsule-shaped confection is formed by combining two hemispherical capsules. When removing the capsules, it is possible to break the confection to extract them, but this confection was merely unsatisfactory in terms of interest value when consumed alone.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a confection(s) with high interest value and a method for making the confections.
One of the aspects of the present invention is a confection. In the present specification, the “confection” is defined as and includes any sweet such as candies, chocolates, cakes, cookies pancakes, and confectionery, and any food in which sugar is not contained, such as snack food and the like. The confection comprises a main body which is spherical and hollow. The main body is made up of a first outer shell portion in a first color and a second outer shell portion in a second color, which is different from the first color, and a connecting portion provided between the first outer shell portion and the second outer shell portion has an outer peripheral surface without any step.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a confection. The method comprises a filling step of filling a first raw material in a first color into a first mold and filling a second raw material in a second color into a second mold, a molding step of forming a first outer shell portion having a hemispherical shape with an internal space from the first raw material filled in the first mold, and forming a second outer shell portion having a hemispherical shape with an internal space from the second raw material filled in the second mold, a container insertion step of inserting a container into the internal space of the formed first outer shell portion or the formed second outer shell portion; and a connecting step of connecting the formed first outer shell portion and the formed second outer shell portion to form a spherical-shaped main body.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a confection, which is excellent in handleability.
An embodiment will be explained below, referring to attached drawings.
As shown in
Here, the body portion 20 has a connecting portion 28 between the first outer shell part 21 and the second outer shell part 22 which are connected to each other without any step, through a manufacturing method described later. Therefore, the connecting portion 28, which is the boundary of the two-color separation, forms part of an outer peripheral surface 20us in a clean spherical shape without any step, and the internal space SP1 (refer to
The body portion 20 is opaque and made of a chocolate confection. The container 10 accommodated inside the body portion 20 is made invisible in a state where the first outer shell part 21 and the second outer shell part 22 are connected to each other. Additionally, the entire outer peripheral surface 20us of the body portion 20 is covered with a covering member 50. This covering member 50 is composed of opaque wrapping paper or a wrapping film with colored patterns, so that the body portion 20 is not visible from the outside.”
Additionally, the covering member 50 is provided so as to be attached firmly to the outer peripheral surface 20us of the body portion 20. Therefore, since the body portion 20 is wrapped with the covering member 50, the confection 1 can be rolled and played with before consumption.
As shown in
Thus, in the first state, the body portion 20 can directly accommodate the container 10 within the internal space SP1 and the container 10 can be swung within the internal space SP1. For instance, by shaking the body portion 20, the inner peripheral surface 20 is of the body portion 20 is brough in contact with the outer peripheral surface 10us of the container 10, thereby generating sound.
When the maximum length D1 of the body portion 20 is set in a range, for example, of 4 cm to 6 cm, the maximum diameter d2 of the container 10 accommodated inside the body portion 20 is set in a range of 3 cm to 5 cm.
First, when the body portion 20 is disassembled, as shown in
Next, as shown in
A manufacturing method of such a confection 1 will be explained referring to
A shaping mold 40, which forms the shape of the confections 1, comprises a first mold 41 and a second mold 42. All steps of the manufacturing method described below are performed while the first mold 41 and the second mold 42 are moved in a state where they are in series aligned on a continuously formed conveyance path 45. As shown in
As shown in
First, in the step S1, a moving step is carried out on the shaping molds 40 which have been transported onto the conveying path 45. As shown in
In the step S2, the filling step of chocolate raw materials is carried out. Specifically, in a state where the shaping mold 40 is close to the filling openings 46a, first material (white) 21b is filled into the concave portions 43 of the first mold 41, and second material (black) 22b is filled into the concave portions 43 of the second mold 42. Subsequently, the shaping mold(s) 40 filled with these raw materials is lowered and returned onto the conveying path 45, and then transferred to the next process.
In the step S3, the molding step of the hemispherical-shaped first outer shell part 21 and the hemispherical-shaped second outer shell part 22 is conducted. As shown in
In the step S4, a container insertion step is carried out. Specifically, as shown in
In a step S5, a melting step is conducted. This melting step involves a step of reheating an opening end 21e of each of the first outer shell parts 21, and an opening end 22e of each of the second outer shell part 22 where the container 10 is inserted, after a natural cooling step, or forced cooling process. (Refer to
In a step S6, an inversion step is conducted. As shown in
In a step S7, a connection step is conducted following the inversion step without performing any step between the inversion step and this connection step. The contact state between the opening end 21e of the first outer shell part 21 and the opening end 22e of the second outer shell part 22 is maintained, thereby forming a main body 20, which has a connecting portion 28 by which the first outer shell part 21 and the second outer shell part 22 are connected to each other.
Here, the strength of the connecting portion 28 can be set based on the degree of re-melting of the opening ends 21e, 22e. For example, only the opening ends 21e, 22e are reheated when both of the outer shell parts 21, 22 are in a cooled and solidified state. While the strength of the connection can be set higher when the melting temperature at the reheating is high, a separation of the opening end 21e from the opening end 22e at the connecting portion 28 can be made easier when the melting temperature is low. Thus, by reheating only the surfaces of the opening ends 21e, 22e, it is possible to create a condition where the opening ends 21e, 22e can be separated from each other at the connecting portion, more easily than at other parts which are entirely solidified from the melted state.
In the step S8, a forced cooling step is conducted. In this cooling step, the main body 20 is rapidly cooled, thereby expediting subsequent steps. Additionally, the cooling step may be provided before the step S5, as mentioned above. In such case, it is possible to reheat them fast.
In a step S9, a vibration imparting step is conducted. In this step, vibration is imparted to the stacked first and second molds 41 and 42 (the shaping mold 40) to facilitate removal of the main body 20 from the shaping molds 40.
In a step S10, a coating step for coating the main body 20 is conducted. Prior to this coating step, the first mold 41, which covers the second mold 42, is returned to its original position to open the shaping mold 40, by rotating and moving the first mold 41. In this state, the main bodies 20 are removed from the second mold 42 by using, for example, a suction means, and are coated with the coating member 50 on its outer peripheral surface 20us. The coated main body 20 is then transferred to another transfer path from the conveyance path 45 and packaged into cosmetic boxes or the like.
As described above, since the confection 1 according to this embodiment, comprises differently colored chocolates connected without steps, the confection 1 can be easily held and rolled even by infants and children. Moreover, since the two-colored chocolates can be neatly separated at the connecting portion, the infants and children can eat it, and enjoy the visual color combination. Furthermore, since the two colors of the outer shells are composed of different flavors, they can choose to enjoy multiple flavors separately or simultaneously. Since a character article C is enclosed in the container 10, it can be enjoyed as a character toy.
In addition, in the present embodiment, since the first outer shell portion 21 and the second outer shell portion 22 both have the same semi-spherical shape, two-colored confection 1 can have different flavors in equal amounts. Moreover, due to the configuration where they are easily separable at the connecting portion 28 located near the equator of the main body 20, the container 10 included thereinside can be reliably removed without destroying multiple parts of the main body 20. Furthermore, since the confection 1 enclosed thereinside cannot be seen from the outside of the main body 20, it can create a sense of anticipation about what is inside.
In this embodiment, since the container 10, including its constituents, is designed with hygiene in mind, the main body 20 can directly accommodate the container 10 without providing a packaging member around the container 10. Therefore, it is possible not only to prevent from accidentally eating such a packaging member but also to eliminate the need for removing the packaging member from the container 10.
In this embodiment, since the container 10 is configured to be swingable within the main body 20, the outer peripheral surface of the container 10 can be brought in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the main body 20 thereby generating a sound. Thus, it is possible to offer a confection 1 capable of generating a sound. Moreover, this configuration can prevent damage to the main body 20, caused by unexpected expansion of the container 10.
In this embodiment, since the container 10 contains one character article selected from multiple types of articles C, it is possible to offer an enjoyment of collecting multiple characters.”
In the present embodiment, since the main body 20 is configured so as not to be visible from the outside in a state where the entire outer peripheral surface 20us of the main body 20 is covered by the covering member 50, the two colors of the content enclosed thereinside can be enjoyed by a viewer when it is opened.
In the present embodiment, since hemispherical molded confections made of different raw materials are combined with and connected to each other to form a spherical shape, by using two molds in the same shape in the manufacturing process, and the connecting portion 28 therebetween is configured so as to be easily separated from each other, it is possible to provide a confection 1 having two different color flavors, which can be enjoyed separately.
In the present embodiment, since the connection step includes the melting step for melting the opening end portion of each of the first outer shell portions 21 and that of each of the second outer shell portions 22 in a state where the first mold 41 and the second mold 42 are alternatively arranged one by one in a conveying direction thereof, connections between the opening end portions 21e in the first mold 41 and the opening end portions 22e in the second mold 42 can be easily achieved by simply flipping, upside down, one of the molds adjacent to each other. Additionally, this connection can be performed on the conveyance path 45 transporting both molds.
In the present embodiment, since there is the moving step for moving the first mold 41 and the second mold 42 in a direction crossing the conveying direction (in an upward direction) so as to approach the filling ports 46a for filling the concave portions with the first raw material 21b and the second raw material 22b, the filling of materials can be reliably performed even while conveying.
In the present embodiment, as a post process after the connecting step, a vibration application step for applying vibration to the first mold 41 and the second mold 42 is included, which facilitates separation between the surface of the shaping mold 40 and the molded product, thereby enabling easy release.
In the present embodiment, as a post process after the connecting process, there is a covering step for covering the main body 20 by taking the main portions 20 from the first mold 41 or the second mold 42, and covering its outer peripheral surface 20us with the covering member 50, thereby ensuring food hygiene of the confection 1.
In the present embodiment, a cooling process(es) for cooling the first outer shell portion 21 and the second outer shell portion 22 is included before, after, or before and after the connecting process. For example, when such a cooling process is provided before the connecting process, the solidification before the melting process can be advanced, thus enlarging a range in which the connection strength (melting adjustment of the opening end portions) of the connecting portion 28 is adjusted. Conversely, when such a cooling process is provided after the connecting process, the connection, fixing and overall cooling of the first outer shell portion 21 and the second outer shell portion 22 and cooling can be accelerated, thereby enhancing productivity thereof.
In the present embodiment, all the steps are executed while the first mold 41 and the second mold 42 on a continuous conveyance path 45 while moving, thereby improving productivity thereof.
Although the embodiments of the present invention are described above, the present invention can be appropriately modified within the scope of its technical concept. For example, in the above embodiments, the colors of the confection are black and white, but these colors are not limited thereto and may be any suitable combination of colors, for example, purple, red, yellow, water blue, green, brown, and black.
Furthermore, in the manufacturing process in the above embodiment, the first mold 41 and the second mold 42 are arranged in a single row along the conveying direction, but the arrangement thereof is not limited thereto, and they may be arranged in two rows along the conveying direction.
As described above, the following matters are described in this specification:
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2023-071073 | Apr 2023 | JP | national |